Deck 3: Writing and Revising

Question 1

One method the text suggests to increase white space in a message is to shorten sentences and paragraphs.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Employees are expected to attend the meeting includes a redundant expression.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Informing the reader of your purpose at the beginning of your message can sometimes make the explanations more difficult to understand.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Which version of the following sentence did Thom likely keep as the most effective use of what the text calls concrete language?

A)I offer my clients valuable investment advice.
B)I usually help my clients make substantial gains in their investment portfolios.
C)My clients have responded positively when asked whether my services have helped them to make money.
D)An independent audit shows that my clients have realized an average growth in their investment income that is higher than the industry average.

Question 5

Phrases have subjects and verbs; clauses do not.

Question 6

According to the text, many professional writers don't worry about language, precision, or correctness when composing the first draft.

Question 7

You are writing an unsolicited sales message to a group of college students. The best pattern to use is the direct pattern.

Question 8

There is and there are are examples of fillers that destroy concise writing.

Question 9

Most routine business communication tasks require the use of formal research methods.

Question 10

The use of slang in business writing shows that a company is modern and forward-thinking.

Question 11

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom knows that he wants his proposed financial plan for Ji-Wan to be clear, focused, and well written, and he knows that won't be an easy task. What does the text suggest that he should do to make writing the first draft of his proposal less difficult?

A)Begin with the most important idea.
B)Consult with colleagues about their ideas on the proposal.
C)Use pen and paper rather than computer to write the first draft.
D)Create an environment as quiet and free of distractions as possible.

Question 12

The text recommends that you proofread a message as you are writing it.

Question 13

Pursuant to your request is an example of an outdated expression.

Question 14

Design techniques such as effective use of white space, typefaces, and numbered and bulleted lists improve the appearance of a document, but the text says that they do not enhance a reader's ability to understand a message.

Question 15

According to the text, using numbered and bulleted lists can force a writer to organize ideas and to write efficiently.

Question 16

According to the text, you are more likely to find errors if you proofread a message on a computer screen than if you read from a print copy.

Question 17

You are writing an e-mail to remind your employees that new parking passes will be available at the front office. The best pattern to use is the direct pattern.

Question 18

I am writing to inform you is a concise and professional beginning for a business message.

Question 19

The power of a verb is reduced when it is needlessly converted into a noun (had a discussion instead of discussed).

Question 20

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom is worried about a letter that he has to write to Anders, a client whose investments have dropped considerably in value during the previous six months. He needs to ask Anders to meet with him to review his portfolio, but is afraid that Anders might react badly to the news and might blame Thom for his loss. Which of the following reasons for employing the indirect pattern is reflected in this situation?

A)delivering bad news
B)persuading the audience
C)delivering sensitive news
D)presenting information to an uninterested audience

Question 21

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
As he thinks about organizing his e-mail message to Alyson, Thom remembers reading in his business communications textbook about the benefits of using the direct pattern in a message. Which of the following benefits identified in the text might Thom be considering when he decides to use the direct pattern?

A)It encourages a fair hearing.
B)It prevents reader frustration.
C)It minimizes a negative reaction.
D)It respects the feelings of the reader.

Question 22

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom also notices that some of his sentences may confuse a reader because of their length. The text claims that a reader will normally comprehend less than 80 percent of the meaning of a sentence if the sentence is too long. How many words does your text suggest as the limit?

A)8
B)15
C)20
D)28

Question 23

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom is writing the first draft of a written proposal for a client. He notices that it seems a bit dense and unappealing. Which of the following does the text say to avoid when employing white space and improving readability?

A)Increase the use of headings.
B)Use longer sentences and paragraphs.
C)Use bulleted lists.
D)Use appropriate margins.

Question 24

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Which version of the following sentence did Thom keep when revising it to include vivid adjectives?

A)My clients are happy when I help them make good investment decisions.
B)My clients are excited when I help them to make profitable investment decisions.
C)My clients are rewarded with large gains in the value of their investments.
D)My clients are pleased when their investment decisions pay off.

Question 25

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom decides to revise one of his sentences because it contains jargon. Which of the following sentences does he most likely decide to revise?

A)The bottom line is that this organization needs to facilitate customer buy-in.
B)At this point in time, we need to focus on customer loyalty.
C)We need to promote customer loyalty with all due speed.
D)As per your request, enclosed please find my recommendations for promoting customer loyalty.

Question 26

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom knows that the best way to organize the information and questions in his e-mail is to create an outline. Which of the following does the text recommend as a strategy that Thom might find helpful when creating his outline??

A)Use a vague title that describes the content.
B)Divide the topic into 8 to 10 major components.
C)Repeat/overlap important information.
D)Use evidence to support subpoints.

Question 27

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom wants to be sure that he presents his client with an impressive investment proposal. Which of the following does the text suggest that he should do when proofreading his proposal?

A)Check whether the ideas are clear and well organized.
B)Ensure that sentences and paragraphs aren't too long.
C)Read the proposal from a print copy.
D)Profile the audience for the proposal.

Question 28

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom needs to communicate with Jenny Delacroix, an employee who also works for TD Bank Financial Group but in a different city. He has never met or communicated with Jenny, but he knows she works in a similar position and that she has used instant-messaging and text-messaging. Thom wonders what style and level of diction he should use to communicate with Jenny. What advice does the text offer about using instant-message and texting speak in your message to Jenny?

A)He should use instant-message and texting speak, because Jenny has used them and they save time.
B)He should phone her and ask her what kind of language she prefers.
C)He should use standard, more formal diction, at least the first time he communicates with her.
D)He should e-mail a friend who works in the same office as Jenny to ask her advice.

Question 29

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Before Thom writes an e-mail to Alyson, he needs to collect the information that he will include in the e-mail. He knows that Alyson is very busy and doesn't want to waste her time, so he wants to be sure to include all the information, and only the information, that she needs. When deciding what his message should include, what primary question does the text suggest Thom should ask himself?

A)Who is my audience?
B)What does the receiver need to know about this topic?
C)What can my manager do to help me?
D)How will my manager feel about this information?

Question 30

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom writes the following sentence in the first draft of a letter to a client: My name is Thom Hollis and I am writing to you to ask you to consider meeting with me to review your investment portfolio. He decides to revise the sentence because it is an example of wordy writing. Which of the following does the text indicate is the problem?

A)long lead-in
B)wordy expression
C)needless adverb
D)outdated expression

Question 31

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Which version of the following sentence did Thom likely keep as the most effective use of concise writing?

A)The employees really did extremely well in their training program.
B)The employees did well in their training program.
C)Each and every company employee did well in the company training program.
D)There are company employees who did very well in the training program.

Question 32

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Which of the following sentences is the best revision for Thom's run-on sentence? During our meeting, I hope to review your current investment portfolio make suggestions for future investments.

A)During our meeting, I hope to review your current investment portfolio I hope to make suggestions for future investments.
B)During our meeting, I hope to review your current investment portfolio, make suggestions for future investments.
C)During our meeting I hope to review your current investment portfolio.Make suggestions for future investments.
D)During our meeting, I hope to review your current investment portfolio and make suggestions for future investments.

Question 33

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom notices and revises the expressions pursuant to your request and kindly advise in a letter he is writing. Which of the following terms describes these phrases?

A)fillers
B)long lead-ins
C)needless adverbs
D)outdated expressions

Question 34

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
In his proposal to Ji-wan, Thom needs to separate and distinguish between several different investment plans, including some details about each plan, such as the investments it would contain, their advantages, and the past performance of various items in that plan. Which of the following does the text indicate Thom should probably use?

A)a variety of fonts, colours, and styles
B)short paragraphs
C)headings and subheadings
D)a new page for each major idea

Question 35

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
When planning an e-mail to his manager, Thom knows that she won't have any reason to be resistant to or upset by his message. Where does the text suggest that Thom should place the main idea in this type of message?

A)at the beginning
B)after the explanation
C)at the very end of the message
D)before the evidence but after the details

Question 36

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom takes care to revise and proofread all of the messages he sends. He decides to rewrite the following sentence because it illustrates a writing error discussed in the text. What is the error? At this point in time, your account will be credited $6.00 in view of the fact that your monthly service charge appeared twice in the month of June.

A)jargon
B)run-on sentences
C)outdated lead-ins
D)wordy expressions

Question 37

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom would like to perform some informal research on possible investment ideas for Ji-Wan. Which of the following research methods would be considered informal?

A)conducting an experiment
B)searching secondary sources
C)consulting with a few colleagues to hear their suggestions
D)retrieving first-hand information

Question 38

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Which of the following report headings should be revised so that it is parallel with the others?

A)Current Allocation
B)Choosing a Target Allocation
C)Wealth Forecast
D)Proposed Portfolio

Question 39

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
Thom decides to make his proposal clearer and more readable by converting into either numbered or bulleted lists some lengthy sentences explaining the benefits of a number of different investment approaches. What advice does the text offer about using numbered lists?

A)Use numbered lists sparingly, because they may confuse the reader.
B)Add end punctuation for all items in a numbered list.
C)Try to express as much information in numbered lists as possible.
D)Use numbered lists for items that represent a sequence or chronology.

Question 40

TD Bank Financial Group
Thom Hollis works as a financial advisor for TD Bank Financial Group. His job involves providing investment advice to many clients, in person or on the phone, and writing many letters and e-mails. He has an appointment tomorrow with Ji-Wan, a client, to review her personal investment portfolio. Before she comes in, Thom has to review her profile, decide what changes to suggest, and put together a proposed portfolio. He has a recent finance diploma, but because he is still relatively new to his job, he wants to collect as much information as he can on appropriate investments for her, so he decides to send an e-mail to Alyson, his manager, to see if she has any suggestions or advice. Besides preparing for his meeting with Ji-Wan, Thom has several other tasks he must work on.
As Thom proofreads his letter, he notices a serious writing error in the following sentence and decides to revise it. What kind of sentence error is this? I hope to be able to assist you. In my position with TD Bank Financial Group.

A)run-on sentence
B)sentence fragment
C)comma-splice
D)wordy expression

Question 41

When you need to give the reader unwelcome news, it is usually best to use the ___________ pattern for your message.

Question 42

A reader normally comprehends 100 percent of a message if sentences contain ____________ words or fewer.

Question 43

The advantage of the __________ feature of word processing software is that it shows you both the original wording and any revisions that you have made to the document.

Question 44

Another name for the direct pattern is _______________.

Question 45

When you collect needed information before writing a message, you are engaging in ______________.

Question 46

The text suggests that preparing a(n) ____________ before writing may help you to organize your ideas.

Question 47

Interviewing the target audience is an example of _____________ research.

Question 48

The text recommends dividing your topic into ____________ major components.

Question 49

According to the writing process outlined in the text, organizing the information that will be contained in a document normally occurs in the ____________ phase of the writing process.

Question 50

Frontloading saves the reader time and prevents ____________.